Loeffler, Kenneth D.
Basketball
b. April 14, 1902, Beaver Falls, PA
d. Jan. 1, 1975
Loeffler entered the newspaper business in 1924 after playing basketball at Penn State, then became head coach at little Geneva College in 1929. He earned a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh while coaching Geneva to 95 wins against 55 losses in six seasons.
He moved to Yale in 1936, but had just one winning season there before joining the Army Air Corps in 1942. After World War II, he coached Denver University for one season and then took over the St. Louis Bombers of the new Basketball Association of America. The Bombers won 67 games and lost 42 in his two seasons, and the BAA's Providence Steamroller had a 12-48 record in Loeffler's one season of coaching them.
Loeffler returned to college coaching at LaSalle in 1950. His 1951-52 team, led by freshman Tom Gola, won the National Invitation Tournament and in 1954 LaSalle won the NCAA championship, beating Bradley 92-76 in the final game to set a tournament record for points in a single game.
After winning 145 games against only 30 losses in six seasons, Loeffler went to Texas A & M in 1956. His teams won just 13 of 48 games in two seasons. Accused of recruiting violations, Loeffler resigned in 1958 and became a college law teacher.